Lee Loader Kit .303 British |
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DairyFarmer
Senior Member Joined: July 19 2014 Location: In The South Status: Offline Points: 555 |
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If you are going to get a scale use it as the only method of charging the case. As you use the dipper to put powder into the scale you will see that each time you get a difference. Add or remove powder from the pan as needed. I am sure that you will be more happy with the results than just using the dipper.
As far as reloading is concerned, your main challenge it to get the charge right for YOUR rifle with the bullet you are using. Yes there are other factors that will affect accuracy and safety (case length, case type, primer, seating depth, crimp, ......) but, by far, the powder charge is the most important thing when reloading. That is why there are starting loads and maximum loads. Always start at the starting load, which, I stand to be corrected, is normally 10% lower than the safest load for the average barrel. But be warned, a significantly under charged load can be more dangerous than an overload as there is a chance of detonation of the powder, rather than a exponential burning of the powder. But don't let all this bother you too much. The one golden rule of reloading is to be consistently safe what ever you do. Remember this and, baring a faulty firearm, you will be fine. Here is a quick break down of the basic reloading process: Make sure cases are clean so that you can inspect cases for damage or abnormalities. Set aside anything that doesn't look like the rest. Lube and resize cases. Inspect cases again. Insert new primer. Insert powder charge. Insert bullet. Inspect cases again. Check for any damage from the reloading process and check for consistence (i.e. overall length). Test your rounds. Remember you are looking for consistently safe reloads. (i.e. no signs of pressure, damage, and grouping). For anyone who is interested I am putting together a detailed, simple reloading tutorial and hope to post it in the reloading part of the forum soon. |
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Dairy Farmer.
That's a excellent set of steps for reloading with a press. But he is using a different tool which you may not be familiar with. The Lee Classic loader is a hand tool, in fact a complete kit in a small box. It doesn't use a press of any kind, substituting whacking with a hammer (hence the whack a mole nickname). It only neck sizes, doesn't require any lube & Uses a reversible (unique) die to perform all the steps, but in a slightly different sequence. (he's actually making a couple of minor errors BTW) Here's a video of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAHq2zKqS0 |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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philtno
Senior Member Joined: May 04 2019 Location: Blenheim, NZ Status: Offline Points: 261 |
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Hi Shamu, Just came across this post about the use of the Lee Loader. I'm using it as well and had seen that video when I started reloading with it. You mentioned the guy was making a few minor errors...what are they?? Thanks for your help. Philtno
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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It's been so long I had to view it again to remember! Nothing drastic. 1: Chambering un-sized brass. Not really a good test, because case neck expansion alone can make a good case fail. Resize in the lee THEN see if it chambers. 2: There's no need to drive the case in the die twice the first time does the resize just fine. 3: He's using a crimped case (you can see the crimp where he shows the case head). You need to remove the crimp before re-priming. 4: Tap the resized case free BEFORE priming then prime. (It drastically reduces the possibility of primers igniting when seated if the case isn't SLAMMED into the primer so much. Extra tip: You can use a factory load to set the basic bullet seating depth as long as its a similar profile. just put the factory load in the same as you'd have a finished reload, & screw down till you feel it contact the bullet nose! (Then back off 3/4 turn & fine tune with your reload. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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philtno
Senior Member Joined: May 04 2019 Location: Blenheim, NZ Status: Offline Points: 261 |
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Fantastic!!
Thank you very much, Shamu I have a side question, though... I'm reloading milsurps that also have crimps. Why is it important to remove the crimp? I have reloaded those I have 6-7 times now for some of them and never had an issue inserting the new primer or any signs of pressure etc. The main reason is that I don't have the proper tool to remove the crimp. Can that potentially create a problem, I mean in terms of safety or integrity of the rifle?? Thanks a lot for your help. Philtno
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Its just because the crimp is a sharp stamped edge & so it makes inserting the primer harder & more prone to going BANG! It won't hurt you, there's too much metal surrounding it, But it WILL get your attention & start the ol' ticker racing. If you have a "countersink", or "rose" bit you can hand turn that 1/2 a turn to clean it out. Even a big(ish) drill bit will do it.
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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philtno
Senior Member Joined: May 04 2019 Location: Blenheim, NZ Status: Offline Points: 261 |
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Thanks for the tip, Shamu
I'll try that. The brass should be soft enough, I guess... Cheers Philtno :)
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Stanforth
Senior Member Joined: January 08 2017 Location: Oxford England Status: Offline Points: 773 |
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A small point when starting reloading. Make sure there is nothing to distract your attention.
No other people and no radio or TV on.
I have only been reloading for 53 years and I stick rigidly to that rule. Good luck and enjoy. |
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Life.. a sexually transmitted condition that is invariably fatal.
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Its thin & already moved in the crimp area. The trick is to not over do it. You're only tying to "break " the sharp edge, not create any kind of taper. Light pressure & a 1/2 turn should be fine.
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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philtno
Senior Member Joined: May 04 2019 Location: Blenheim, NZ Status: Offline Points: 261 |
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Yes, that's a very good point and I apply that strict rule myself as well.
I have my own office space at home where I reload... no wife around, door closed 🙂
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philtno
Senior Member Joined: May 04 2019 Location: Blenheim, NZ Status: Offline Points: 261 |
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Thanks a lot for the tip, Shamu 👍
Cheers Philtno
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britrifles
Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA Status: Offline Points: 6539 |
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Stanforth gave good advice. This needs your undivided attention, particularly when you start out. After 20 years and thousands of rounds, you will develop some brain muscle memory, but don’t ever break the routine.
Screwing up pistol cartridge loads is admittedly easier because of the small charges in a large case, but what ever you do, DON’T EVER A LOAD RIFLE CARTRIDGE WITH A PISTOL POWDER! (Not unless you know what you are doing and it’s a cast bullet load with very small charges of pistol powder). Look at the powder container, read the label out load, read your load data out load, be sure you are loading the case with the correct powder. Keep the powder container out and return the powder back to the same container when you finish charging cases. In all the years I have reloaded, I’ve only had one instance of a problem. The powder did not ignite in a reloaded pistol cartridge, the primer power was sufficient to lodge the bullet in the barrel. Fortunately, I realized what had happened and did not just chamber another round and fire. |
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englishman_ca
Senior Member Joined: September 08 2009 Location: Almaguin Status: Offline Points: 1089 |
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A horror story for you.
Dont drink booze while you load. Give it your undivided attention.
Shut the door, give yourself some peace and quiet. Hand reloading can be very restful and therapeutic! I reload smokeless for my Webley .455. I also reload black for Adams .450. I have a routine when loading. I use dippers and a baby food jar. Close enough measurements for the mild loads that I make. So I loaded my batch. As I was putting everything away, dies, powder, trays, I got called to the phone and was gone for an hour. I missed the baby food jar of smokless powder and it stayed on the bench. (You know where this is going, dontcha?) When I got back, I set up to reload .450 Adams. I loaded very mild soft cast lead bulleted loads for an antique Bulldog clone for plinking. Loaded just that first round before I realised that I had used smokeless powder and not black. The powder looks very different, but it took a minute for it to sink into my thick head with me looking at it, but byb then I had seated the bullet.. Phew! glad that I caught that mistake. Stupid me! I should pay more attention. Oh well. Nothing hurt.. I put that round aside to pull the bullet. I even went and got the inertia hammer out of the drawer. I was called to the phone again and had to go out once more to run an errand. So I just quickly put all the powder away, left everything else out on the bench and locked up. The next day I finished up loading for the Adams with black being very careful that I used the correct powder. Took my time. No mistakes. All good, I was happy. Took the pistol out to my range, and shot it until the one shot felt very different. I looked at the frame of the revolver and it was busted through the top strap. Apparently, the cat had been playing with a pistol round on the kitchen floor scooting it around. Goodness knows as to where he found it, I think that I might have knocked it off the bench onto the floor and kicked it, who knows. My significant other, took the round away from the cat and brought it to my gun room. She put it in a dish with some others on the loading bench that looked exactly the same. Yup, it was the smokeless miss-loaded round. Smokless powder has ten times the brisance of black. So that one round was kind of over pressure! Wrecked my pistol. Lesson learnt. |
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. Look to your front, mark your target when it comes! |
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Best tip I ever got. Only ever have one of each component (powder, primer, bullet) on the bench at a time. store them separate from the load top.
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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philtno
Senior Member Joined: May 04 2019 Location: Blenheim, NZ Status: Offline Points: 261 |
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Thank you all for the good advice. I'm fully aware of the risks and, as I said to Stanforth in my reply, I apply those very strict rules...and my wife knows that I need to be left alone when I'm reloading. I'm reloading with the basic Lee Loader with the exception that I'm using a scale so the amount of banging the hammer forces me to lock all doors or do that when the wife goesline dancing Haha. I'm also going through every step for 50 or 100 round at the time so when I'm decaping I'm going through the whole batch and only progress to the next step only when I'm done with decaping..., same when preparing my loads etc... also I never drink and drive, same when my Old Boy or ammunition are around. At this stage, I just reload 303's...so no risks to mismatch powders or loads... but who knows, I can see myself acquiring a 30-30 or a 30-06 one day. That day I might need a refresher on those advices 😉
Cheers Philtno
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TomcatPC
Senior Member Joined: February 02 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 335 |
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I started reloading with the Lee-Loader in .303" Calibre. As little as I shoot .303" these days, I have never got a set of .303" dies for my Lee-Hand Press yet. Might do that someday, but for now the Lee-Loader Kit works just fine.
Too bad Lee did not make a kit for the .577"-.450" Martini-Henry Cartridge!!! Mark
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The .303" Cartridge, Helping Englishmen express their emotions since 1888.
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